


Equal Footing

by scatter



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Angst, Bitterness, F/F, Insecurity, M/M, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-30
Updated: 2011-04-30
Packaged: 2017-10-18 20:09:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/192798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scatter/pseuds/scatter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two couples, four people, and everyone's sure everyone else has it better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Equal Footing

**Author's Note:**

> The plan was 250 words per person to make it an even 1000, but then some characters wouldn't shut up and Souji didn't want to say much of anything so that idea didn't pan out.

Dating was probably really simple between girls.

Not with girls. Yosuke'd pretty much given up on doing that any time soon, if ever. Wasn't like he wanted to, anyway, not when he had Souji, and he got hot thinking about dicks, and the girl he was closest to kicked him at least once a week. Chie was enough to turn any guy off women, but Chie was also in an easy, uncomplicated relationship, and it was hard not to be a little jealous.

It had to be easy with Yukiko; the two of them had been best friends since forever. They'd even gotten their dirty secrets out of the way, and what kind of secrets had those been? Some parts were bad, sure, like the stuff about Chie being jealous about Yukiko, but didn't it all boil down to them needing and wanting and admiring each other? Pretty good things in the end, a lot better than _I went into the TV because I wanted to be a hero_ and _I'm always lonely_ , and what kind of a first impression had that been to make? Wasn't like he'd seen the bad side of Souji to even it out, either; Souji didn't have one of those.

Chie and Yukiko probably talked too. Chie would go _Oh, Yukiko, I'm feeling this_ and Yukiko would go _Chie, I feel this way too_ , and that was okay because girls were supposed to do that. He bet neither of them worried about whether their partner thought they were cool or not, or if Souji really considered them equals, or what was going to happen when Souji ended up moving back to the city.

Yukiko and Chie had their heads together, and Yukiko was laughing at something. They were the picture of a trouble-free couple. Yosuke poked at his lunch, wished he'd accepted Souji's offer to eat together, and comforted himself with the thought that at least he didn't have to deal with bleeding once a month.

*

Sometimes, Yukiko didn't know what to do with Chie.

Chie wanted time together without understanding what Yukiko had to do to get it. Yukiko had responsibilities, and the Inn came first. It had to if she wanted to be able to do anything else, and simply neglecting it wasn't an option, no matter how much she might want to drop everything and be with Chie.

And it was wrong, of course, to sometimes feel bitter and jealous towards Chie, who didn't realize how easy she had it. Chie could do whatever she wanted, because she wasn't tied down like Yukiko, because she was strong in a way Yukiko wasn't. Chie had always been able to walk away from things she didn't like without a second thought, but Yukiko knew there'd be only disappointment and resentment if she did the same, and sometimes it was all so overwhelming that she wished…

Yukiko didn't _need_ a prince, and she didn't want one anymore, not one that would take her away and keep her from standing on her own two feet, so it didn't make sense to be upset that Chie never offered to be exactly that.

She was sure Yosuke and Souji didn't have this problem. They seemed perfectly equal, partners despite the fact that Souji was leader as well, and that was… that was completely unfair, actually. If things were going to be equal between anyone, shouldn't it have been between her and Chie, who had known each other longer?

It didn't make sense, and it wasn't reasonable to sometimes hate them over it, to want them to have the same problems, but if they could manage it then certainly she and Chie could do the same.

*

It wasn't like Chie didn't like Yukiko because she did, she loved her, but sometimes she got so confused she wasn't sure she was doing anything right.

It was times like that when she envied Yosuke. She was sure things super simple between Souji and him because when it all came down to it Yosuke was a simple guy. Souji'd probably just said—she didn’t know what he would have said, actually. Maybe he hadn't said anything at all, just looked at Yosuke, and Yosuke had fallen over his feet to get to him and that was it, they were suddenly a couple. It was probably really easy to keep Yosuke happy, and Souji…how did Yosuke keep him happy? Maybe he was happy as long as Yosuke was. She didn't know.

The point was, it had to be easier than what went on between her and Yukiko.

Chie said, _Let's hang out_ , and sometimes that was the right thing to suggest and sometimes it wasn't. She said, _I know you're busy at the Inn, let me help_ , and sometimes Yukiko looked grateful and sometimes she looked angry, like Chie shouldn't have been offering or like she wasn't doing enough even though she didn't have to do anything at all, and when that happened Chie couldn't stop herself from thinking, _You should be grateful I'm here at all_. What would Yukiko do if she just left, huh? Nothing, she'd fall apart, she needed a prince – needed _Chie_ – to—

God, was she still thinking like that?

Things were better than they used to be, though. At least Chie knew now why Yukiko acted that way. She just…didn't know how to make her stop acting that way. Talking about it might have helped but she couldn't say, _Oh, Yukiko, I was just wondering if you still secretly resented me because I still kind of get a kick out of you not being able to do anything without me._

She bet she wouldn't be thinking about these things if she were more like Yosuke.

*

Souji didn't fool himself by thinking any of their relationships were simple, but sometimes, when he shared Yosuke's headphones and held his hand, and Yukiko and Chie kissed because they thought no one was looking, he wished that they were.


End file.
